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'Road to freedom still being paved': Fitchburg event honors MLK, calls for more to be done to realize his dream

By Alana Melanson, amelanson@sentinelandenterprise.com

Updated:
01/21/2014 06:32:52 AM EST

The Rev. Timothy Martin of New Patriots Christian Congregation Church passionately recites the Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech" during an annual celebration of King's life Monday at the church.
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FITCHBURG -- Voices were lifted and hearts opened Monday as members of the community celebrated the contributions of one of the nation's greatest activists of civil rights and nonviolence, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

At New Patriots Christian Congregation Church's annual celebration of King's birthday, speakers acknowledged that African-Americans have come a long way since the days of King's fight for justice and equality -- and his 1968 assassination in that pursuit -- but that "the road to freedom is still being paved."

The Rev. Dr. Quincy "Doc" Mosby, the event's keynote speaker, a highly decorated Air Force veteran and president of the Col. Charles E. McGee Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc.

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at Hanscom Air Force Base, said the holiday is a call to celebrate and to act.

He warned, however, that "the celebratory aura of where we are today will be psychologically and systematically eroded if we sit back on our laurels, become content in our own well-being, and shield ourselves from what's going on in this vast world around us."

He said the black community was satisfied in 2008, when Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States, that racial barriers have been overcome in the world of professional sports, and that the number of black teachers, professors and college and school administrators has greatly risen, showing that "we have mastered the art of teaching others from the same books that we were once prohibited to read.

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However, Mosby said, the black community cannot be satisfied that blacks are underrepresented in government, that judicial-system errors are imprisoning young black men and women "at alarming rates," and that race, ethnicity and socioeconomic background still greatly influence literacy rates.

Black and Hispanic high-school students are, on average, three years behind their white and Asian counterparts, he said, while students of low-income families enter high school with literacy skills on average five years behind those of high-income students.

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"We come together today, in this time to reflect on this day off from work. But if Dr. King were here with us today, I'm sure he would tell us that the road to freedom is still being paved," Mosby said, drawing "amens" from parishioners.

"He would tell us to enjoy the day off from our jobs, but continue to stay the course to rid this country of racial bigotry and hate."

He said all must be committed every day to serve that purpose.

"We cannot afford to take a day off when the veil of racism and hatred hinders love, honor and respect for each other regardless of skin color," Mosby said. "If America is to be a great nation, we simply cannot afford a day off when the love for each other has been replaced by bullying and bullets.

Mary Wright of Ayer reacts as the Rev. Timothy Martin of New Patriots Christian Congregation Church recites Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream Speech" during an annual celebration of King's life Monday at the church.
SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / BRETT CRAWFORD

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our Smugmug site.

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He quoted the words of the late Nelson Mandela, saying that no one is born hating another person for the color of his skin or any other reason.

"People must learn to hate," Mosby said, echoing Mandela's words. "And if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love."

The Rev. Timothy Martin once again gave a re-enactment of King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech, first delivered 50 years ago last August, as well as a portion of King's last speech, given in Memphis, Tenn., on April 3, 1968, the eve of his assassination.

"Like anybody, I would like to live a long life," Martin said, echoing King's words. "Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned with that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know that tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas spoke at the event in Fitchburg, asking participants to pay particular attention to King's words that called them to "make real the promises of democracy," and reminding them of "the fierce urgency of now."

"Dr. King's words challenge us to resist complacency, to follow the easy path and instead work towards progress and necessary change," Tsongas said. "That is a message that rings true to this day."

Children in the congregation also took turns reading portions of an essay written by King's wife, Coretta Scott King, titled, "The Meaning of the King Holiday," to "commemorate the universal, unconditional love, forgiveness and nonviolence that empowered his revolutionary spirit."

"No other day of the year brings so many peoples from different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and sisterhood," Mrs. King wrote. "Whether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American, whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a peoples' holiday. And is the young people of all races and religions who hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream."

Musical selections were performed by the church choir and pianist David Hunte.

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